• User Guide
  for BASIC Platform for ADVANCED Platform

Life Pre VEG-GAP project shows the effect of vegetation on air pollution and temperature in the cities as simulated with atmospheric modelling systems (AMS).

AMS are the only tools available to investigate the impact of past, present and future anthropogenic interventions on the atmosphere.

What are AMS?

AMS are numerical models employing a set of equations and parameterizations to describe the multiple physical and chemical phenomena and processes which take place in the atmosphere.

AMS use input data such as surface features (land use, topography, sea surface temperature, etc) and estimations of anthropogenic emissions.

AMS provide estimations of meteorological variables, of air concentration of pollutants and of the amount of pollutants deposited on the ground.

AMS capability to reproduce the state of the atmosphere is evaluated against measurements of meteorological variables, of air concentration of pollutants and of the amount of pollutants deposited on the ground.

Notes on VEG-GAP results

AMS estimations refer to the year 2015. The results may differ substantially for another year due to the changes in meteorological conditions and anthropogenic emissions.

The estimations are made over a domain large enough to cover the city area and avoid strong influences from the boundary conditions. The domain is divided in so-called grid cells of 1kmx1km horizontal spatial resolution. At present, the complex physical and chemical atmospheric processes cannot be reproduced by any model at a higher resolution.

VEG-GAP and Air Quality Plan

Air Quality Plans (AQPs) are instruments introduced by the Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC (AQD50) in order to support the achievement of EU Air Quality standards.

AQPs objective is to identify measures to reduce air pollution. The assessment of the effectiveness of proposed measures in achieving compliance with AQD50 Limit or Target values is performed with AMS. The difference between an AMS simulation without measures and a simulation with measures shows the effectiveness of a measure.

VEG-GAP reveals the effectiveness of vegetation for air quality and temperature control by showing the difference between an AMS simulation with actual vegetation and a simulation without vegetation. Thus, it is providing support to both City Air Quality and Climate Change Plans.

The effect of vegetation on air quality and temperature should be assessed by considering the multiple interactions between vegetation and atmosphere at city scale, for different years, in order to ensure a robust assessment of new interventions.